Pentagon responds to GAO report on propaganda

May 23, 2013
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by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

In this Q & A, Army Lt. Col. James Gregory responds to criticism of the Pentagon's propaganda programs in a Government Accountability Office report obtained by USA TODAY. The military calls propaganda programs Military Information Support Operations, or MISO.

The GAO cites three "weaknesses" in how the Pentagon judges the effectiveness of the programs.

Q: The first, "without comprehensive tracking of MISO activities, the Pentagon and Congress do not have a complete picture of Defense Department's MISO activities and the federal resources used to support them."

A: The Defense Department is revising both its tracking and reporting requirements such that the Geographic Combatant Commands, with the support of both the Joint Staff and U.S. Special Operations Command, can more accurately and completely account for and report their MISO activities. Recently published guidance codifies this requirement and places the Defense Department on the road to a more complete picture of MISO and other information-related capabilities in each of the Combatant Command areas of responsibility.

Once a quarter, the Defense Department submits an exhaustive report of all MISO activities to key congressional staffers. This report, often well in excess of 100 pages, provides comprehensive tracking of all MISO activities and the resources used to support them. After eight such quarterly reports had been submitted, the Committee on Appropriations included in its report on the Defense Department appropriations bill specific laudatory language for the efforts of Defense Department to improve government and oversight; "The Committee appreciates the significant oversight and attention the Department has given to these programs and believes that progress is being made to address the Committee's concerns." Further, it concluded that, "The Committee appreciates the Department's efforts to provide more detailed information regarding the budgets for these activities."

Q: Second, lacking the adequate assessments, "it will be difficult for the Defense Department to identify the overall impact" of MISO activities and determine where changes should be made.

A: US Special Operations Command has requested and the Congress has allocated specific funds for assessment of the effectiveness of MISO activities. The initial pilot effort under this program proved so successful at demonstrating the effectiveness of MISO when discretely assessed that the program is being expanded to more comprehensively assess these activities. This program will establish criteria for success that enables assessment of Military Information Support Teams' effectiveness to include termination criteria. Once standardized and accepted, geographic combatant commands and supporting theater special operations commands can better measure MIST progress. Additionally, a quarterly assessment of MISO activities is included in our report to Congress so that direct return on investment determinations can be made. The assessment is now listed parallel with the funds expended in a comprehensive and exhaustive spreadsheet. Commanders at all levels compile the cumulative effects across the full range of programs into their assessment report narratives to give a holistic picture of the combined effects of multiple programs within a specific region or focused on a particular group or issue.

Q: Third, "the absence of clearly-defined end goals" means the Defense Department "does not have reasonable assurance that it is putting resources into countries where MISO capabilities are needed."

A: The development of plans to include benchmarks, milestones, and end goals for MIST deployment requires that the U.S. ambassador in the supported country, the Commander, (Special Operations Command) and the Geographic Combatant Commander all agree that the deployment and employment of the MIST is consistent with the Embassy's Mission Strategic Plan, the Combatant Commander's Theater Campaign Plan and (Special Operations Command) Trans-regional MISO Program. It is only when there is a commonality of objectives and purpose among these the documents that the Embassy's request for MISO support results in an approved mission. The ambassador's cable that requests the force explains the parameters of the mission and serves to guide the decisions as to whether the goals of the mission are being reached. Revised policy in soon to be published Defense Department Instruction O-3607, "Military Information Support Operations," will emphasize the planning requirement and direct Geographic Combatant Commands to work closely with (Special Operations Command) to develop effective plans for all stages of MIST operations.